Gulf Crisis Fuels Effort to Save Long Beach Shipyard

The Persian Gulf crisis is refueling efforts to save the Long Beach Naval Shipyard from closure, and a dozen labor unions representing 4,100 workers have called for a two-year moratorium on the shutdown of any military installations.

Emerging from a shipyard meeting with U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson and several other politicians on Friday, labor leaders said the Middle East standoff that has placed the world on the brink of war may also have spared the 47-year-old shipyard from the Pentagon’s budget ax.

“I think if you put any type of military closure in the lap of Congress right now they would throw it out,” said a confident Louis F. Rodriguez, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents hundreds of shipyard workers. “We’re not supporting what’s going on in Iraq. We’re just saying this is an example that the Navy needs shipyards like ours.”

The Defense Department in January targeted more than 100 military installations for possible closure or consolidation, including the Long Beach yard, one of only eight facilities in the nation equipped to repair and overhaul Navy vessels.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney is scheduled to release his latest “hit list” on Monday, and there have been no assurances from Washington that the Long Beach shipyard will be spared.

But gubernatorial candidate Wilson, pointing to Iraq’s bold invasion of Kuwait last week, said anything less would be unwise.

“Even as we shrink very considerably the number of men and women in uniform, it is nonetheless essential that we maintain a very credible naval capability,” he told reporters. “You would have to be cavalier indeed not to be struck by the necessity to mobilize and maintain Navy presence.”

Wilson, flanked by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Lomita) and Rep. Glenn M. Anderson (D-Harbor City), visited the yard at the request of workers who have spent seven months lobbying from Long Beach to Washington to rescue one of the city’s major employers.

Shipyard leaders are asking for a two-year stay on any military closures so the Defense Department can more carefully study the impact.

The Pentagon estimates it could save $8 million a year by closing the yard.